A University of Connecticut poll of 1,015 adults nationwide found that 53 percent have an unfavorable opinion of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

The same poll found that 38 percent have a favorable impression and nine percent remain neutral. About 52 percent of voters 18 to 34 had a more favorable opinion of the law, while those ages 50 to 64 had a less favorable opinion with 56 having an unfavorable opinion and 35 percent having a favorable opinion.

The law doesn’t impact voters over the age of 65 who qualify for Medicare.

The poll found that 84 percent of Americans say they’re aware of the deadline to purchase health insurance, one of the Affordable Care Act’s most contentious provisions. Two-thirds or 66 percent say they won’t participate in the health insurance marketplaces opening Oct. 1, including more than a quarter or 27 percent of people who currently have no health insurance.

At the same time voters were confident they understand what the law does, the poll found there are still 41 percent who say they don’t have enough information.

Forty-two percent of those polled say the country is worse off with the Affordable Care Act, compared to 29 percent who say the country is better for it. And if you live in the Northeast the poll found that you’re more likely to support the law than voters in other parts of the country.

Forty-nine percent of voters surveyed in the Northeast have a favorable view of the law, but only 34 percent of the voters surveyed in the Midwest share that view. Thirty-five percent of Southerners have a favorable opinion and 37 percent of Westerners.

“While Americans may like the concept of making healthcare available to all, they aren’t enthusiastic about this particular law,” UConn Poll Director Jennifer Necci Dineen said. “Some of that may be tied to how they feel about President Obama and the state of the country.”

The same poll found that 64 percent of Americans think the country is on the wrong track, with 24 percent saying it’s headed in the right direction. Americans also take a dim view of the job President Barack Obama is doing, with 51 percent disapproving and 44 percent giving him their seal of approval.

“Fifty percent of the country is unhappy with the job President Obama is doing, and so that makes it hard to sell a piece of legislation with his name on it,” Dineen said, pointing to low marks for how Obama is handling the federal budget deficit, healthcare reform in general, and the situation in Syria.

The poll has a 3 percent margin of error and voters were interviewed between Sept. 13 and 19.

The UConn poll seems to track with other national polls when it comes to opinions about the Affordable Care Act. A Rasmussen poll conducted Sept. 20-21 found 51 percent still think the law will make the health care system worse, but that’s the lowest level of pessimism since Februrary. That same poll found that 30 percent of likely voters now believe the nation’s health care system will get better under the new law, up eight points from 22 percent a month ago, making it the most positive assessment to date.

A recent poll by the Pew Research Center found that awareness of the health insurance marketplaces is low with 51 percent knowing they will be available. The same poll found that the lack of awareness is prevalent among those who would be affected most.

The Pew poll also found that the closer Americans get to implementation, the less support there is for the law. Their poll conducted earlier this month found that 53 percent disapprove of the new law, while 42 percent approve. That’s the most negative assessment since the law was enacted in March 2010. Last July, shortly after the Supreme Court upheld most of the provisions of the law, 47 percent approved and 43 percent disapproved.

(18) Comments

posted by: lkulmann | September 25, 2013 4:01pm

Wait till CT sees the plans! They’ll really hate it. It has ‘don’t make it easy for them’ written all over it!

posted by: Lawrence | September 25, 2013 8:00pm

Here’s one poll we can all agree on: REPUBLICANS DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT THEY’RE TALKING ABOUT.

From TPM/NY Daily News/Fox News, etc:

“Republicans like the 2010 health care law better when it’s called by its proper name—the Affordable Care Act—instead of Obamacare, according to a new Fox News poll.

Republican support for the law jumped eight percent, from 14 percent for Obamacare to 22 percent for the Affordable Care Act, when pollsters revised the question’s language.

Overall support increased from 34 percent to 39 percent with the change. Democratic support moved one percent; independent support rose four percent.

The poll of 900 registered voters was conducted from Sept. 6 to 9, using live telephone interviews. According to the poll, 443 people were asked about Obamacare; 457 were asked about the Affordable Care Act.

posted by: Fisherman | September 25, 2013 8:58pm

Voters Don’t Like Obamacare?...duh.

posted by: DrHunterSThompson | September 25, 2013 10:22pm

The uproar and crazy political radio hull-a-balloo astounds me. How is it possible that so many people oppose the affordable health care act and it’s efforts to come close to universal coverage?

Do we NOT want everyone to have coverage? Is that possible?

HST

posted by: gutbomb86 | September 26, 2013 12:25am

Once again Lawrence identifies and crucifies the not-so-hidden hypocrisy (to use a nicer word) within the opposition to anything and everything President Obama has accomplished and is accomplishing.

Regardless… the survey should have only polled the people who have been denied coverage or who simply can’t afford coverage. I can guarantee you those folks want and need Obamacare, myself included. How many people have to lose their homes to hospital collection agencies? How many people do we need to see lined up outside the annual Mission of Mercy dental clinics to understand that the system that we had in place was an utter disaster?

There are going to be bumps in the road but there were bumps for Medicare, too. Employers are going to have the option to simply stop administering health plans and instead allow their employees to spend the money on the plan they want. The 80/20 rule is already forcing insurers to provide REFUNDS, instead of keeping that money and padding the corporate trough. Women are able to get coverage where before they were often simply refused insurance. If you’ve never been refused the option to hand someone $ for insurance, you don’t really have a clue as to what that’s like. The prices available in the exchange now are clearly better than anything that was available on the open market in the recent past. For the first time in many years there are options available between a an unaffordable cadillac plan and the catastrophic plans that cover nothing and offer a $10k deductible.

The ACA is opening the door to health insurance for independent contractors and self-employed individuals and families all over America. Get used to it - it isn’t going away in your lifetimes. It’s not perfect, but it’s the best option available. I’m grateful for it. I voted twice for Obama and, at least for my middle-class bottom line and just based on soon-to-be realized access to actual health insurance, they were best two votes I’ve ever cast.

Sorry to dump that bucket of ice over the angry red-hat crowd. But someone had to say it.

posted by: ocoandasoc | September 26, 2013 2:53am

I find all the outrageous spin about Obamacare amusing. Unfortunately, many people have misconceptions that are causing them undue anxiety. There is no need to panic. It will be months before the hospitals close, all the doctors retire, and the death squads take over.
Seriously, nobody knows how this will play out. It took 20 years to get Medicare working right. This will be no different. But it will be better than the system we have now. Neither the Dems or Repubs know all the ramifications. Yesterday Sen. Alexander (R-TN) railed about how Obamacare would cost his constituents money. Today we learned that Tennessee will have the second lowest Obamacare costs of any of the 50 States. (Sorry CT, as with just about every other cost, you’re one of the highest.)

posted by: perturbed | September 26, 2013 6:08am

This is not meant to express an opinion of the ACA, but did anyone else notice how completely wrong the pie chart is at the top of the article? It looks like the 9% “neutral” slice was laid over the 38% “favorable” slice instead of beside it. That means the 53% “opposed” slice actually takes up a big red 62% of the pie chart.

—perturbed

posted by: art vandelay | September 26, 2013 6:30am

To Gutbomb86 DrHunter & Lawerence,
Where in the Constitution does it say anything about Universal Health Care or Social Security or Medicare? It DOSN’T. These programs have turned this country into a massive welfare state where people are totally dependent upon government. It is NOT what our Founding Fathers originally intended. In the Federalist Papers Hamilton & others warned us about a “Welfare State” and how it could destroy this nation. Federal programs like these are transforming this country into a “Socialist” nation where rights and liberties are being controlled by a massive centralized government. This is NOT what this great nation was founded upon. If you read your history books, you’ll discover no nation on the face of this earth has ever prospered under Socialism. It’s never worked and never will. Our current crop of Marxist Socialist Progressive Democrats who run this country do not seem to understand this nor do they understand history.

posted by: dano860 | September 26, 2013 7:17am

Fourth highest rates in the nation, premium increase of 24% for those pulling the wagon.
This will lure good jobs and businesses to Connecticut. Guaranteed!
We have to pass it in order to find out what’s in it. Maybe we should have read it first though.
The Red Hat gang offered a great many improvements and alternatives but the commy collusion gang weren’t hearing any of that.

posted by: JH_1 | September 26, 2013 11:07am

Good, bad or ugly, the ACA is the law, whether people like it or not. Only time will tell how this turns out.

Maybe by 2016, some of the pain points will have been addressed and it’s not so bad? Or maybe it sends the economy spiraling down hill again? It could go either way.

If people don’t like it, then it’s up to them to do something about it during elections. Not just in 2014, but every election year as well.

posted by: Stan Muzyk | September 26, 2013 5:48pm

Many people are opposed to ObamaCare because of the way Pres. Barack Obama used his congressional Democratic majority “by twisting the arms of these congressmen” to invoke one party passing of the ObamaCare Law. Obama acted like a dictator in reslistically “shoving ObamaCare down people’s throats.”
Also, we really don’t have the money to pay for ObamaCare—and our $159.6 trillion dollar national defict keeps growing daily. “Does Obama really care about our massive,bankruptcy
dangerous national debt?”
The biggest issue affecting a probable government shutdown is ObamaCare.

posted by: art vandelay | September 26, 2013 10:51pm

To Stan Muzyk,
Obama like all Marxist/Socialist/Democrats could care less about our national debt. Their goal is for the national government to control every aspect of our lives. It is to destroy individual freedoms as outlined by the Constitution. The Constitution to a Marxist Socialist Democrat like Obama/DeLauro & Malloy is only a piece of paper that gets in the way of their intended goal. The Marxists/Socialists now have complete control of our money supply, educational system, and now health care. They have complete control of the media, and are now after our guns, and ultimately the entire private economic sector through bureaucratic regulations. The EPA is a prime example. Read Thomas Sowell & Mark Levine to get a very good understanding what Obama is all about. “The Amateur” is also an excellent read. The Democratic Party has been completely taken over by the extreme left. It’s not your “Daddy’s Democratic Party” anymore.

posted by: perturbed | September 27, 2013 2:08am

For comparison purposes, and in the interest of accuracy, here are a couple of graphically correct pie charts. Which one matches the text of the article? Which one is more sensationalistic, matching the graphic provided in the article (but not the text)?

posted by: Stan Muzyk | September 27, 2013 8:17am

Art Vandelay: You are 100%
correct.
This group is burying are country.
Pres. Barack Obama is their key puppet.

posted by: dano860 | September 27, 2013 1:45pm

It will fall on its own sword and suffer a slow agonizing death. Unfortunately the illustrious mental midget liberals will take that to mean that we need single payer, AKA socialized government care.

posted by: ocoandasoc | September 27, 2013 5:27pm

Look VERY closely between the red and the purple… there’s an ultra-thin yellow sliver of a line there representing .3%.... those are the people who actually read and understand the Affordable Health Care Act.

posted by: lkulmann | September 29, 2013 1:51am

What it boils down to is ~do we pay for uninsured medical care and ER visits and zero preventive care? OR ~do we pay insurance costs for people who have regular healthcare and preventive medicine?‘People who don’t get regular healthcare can get very sick. Very sick people are very expensive to care for. There are so many catastrophic conditions that are preventable or manageable like heart disease, stroke and diabetes. The ACA is truly a no~brainer.

posted by: art vandelay | September 30, 2013 12:50pm

To Dano860,
Obamacare when fully enacted will NOT self destruct. Yes it will have it’s start up problems like Medicare did. The Democrats will not let it implode. It’s what they’ve wanted since the New Deal. They will tweak it a bit and throw a ton of money into it before they will let it self destruct. Unless it’s stopped now, it will be with us forever. Government Programs never die, they just grow and grow.